The Ominous Stones Warning Of Death
Petr David Josek/AP PhotoOne of the hunger stones contained this ominous message: “When you see me, weep.”
Centuries ago in the Czech Republic, people came up with an unusual way to warn each other of upcoming droughts and famines.
When the water level dropped, people marked boulders in the Elbe River. The stones, which were only visible during the droughts, became known as “hunger stones.” These ominous signs warned people in the area of a bad harvest, a food shortage, and a major crisis that was surely on the way.
Once the Elbe dropped enough to reveal the stones, people would have immense difficulty staving off the coming crisis. But the stones at least provided some warning that people would soon go hungry.
Wikimedia CommonsToday, the low water levels in the Elbe reveal the hunger stones.
Today, the hunger stones act as a record of previous droughts. In the 19th century, people etched the date onto stones in 1800, 1811, 1830, 1842, 1868, 1892, and 1893. But they existed long before the 1800s. The dates go as far back as 1417 and include dates in the 17th and 18th centuries as well.
Next to the dates, people wrote warnings about the upcoming crises, some of which are heartbreaking. One says, “When you see me, weep.”
In 2018, the creepy artifacts became visible once again. During a long drought, the Elbe nearly reached the lowest level ever recorded, exposing the hunger stones. And that’s not the only thing Czechs found in the river. The recent drought also unearthed some more unsettling discoveries — bombs dropped during World War II that never exploded.